An early bus back to Ayampe Road paid dividens this morning as the weather was ideal birding conditions, overcast, coolish, gentle breeze and little glare from the obscured sun. Again Iwas hopeful of an 'endemic' or 2 and did come away with the much coveted Esmeraldas Woodstar, and 7 'lifers' besides. After a good morning there I have finally decided to make my next move tomorrow, and head down to Salinas in the far south west corner of Ecuador. There, as I said yesterday, I have potential of 2 contacts which,even if they only point me in the right direction, will be something.
This afternoon I say farewell to my new found mates Richard and Deirdre who have been so hospitable, and think it's true to say the feeling has been mutual. She has a regular slot on the local radio, on which she mentioned some of my observations with reference to the litter problem here. Within 30 minutes of transmission the Town Administrator had been in touch to discuss my finding, lets hope it helps to continue the active try the people are making o clean the place up. On the subject of friends, two very promising events have taken place while I have been out here. Firstly, I have been contacted, out of the blue, by my boyhood friend John Wood from Chilwell in Nottinghamshire, where I was born. I have for many years sent a Christmas card to his parents for no other reason than I held them in very high regard during those formative years, and very much so in my memory. Mr (Alan) Wood, John's father, who unfortunately past away some years ago, was one of my early mentors trying to improve my maths with extra teaching during many an evening. I remember him mostly for his patience, as I was not exactly a shining pupil but still he persevered. Mrs (Doris) as I remember a disciplinarian, and a number of times I remember she brought me up short for my (regular) misbehavior.
and the List's Additions since who knows when!
This afternoon I say farewell to my new found mates Richard and Deirdre who have been so hospitable, and think it's true to say the feeling has been mutual. She has a regular slot on the local radio, on which she mentioned some of my observations with reference to the litter problem here. Within 30 minutes of transmission the Town Administrator had been in touch to discuss my finding, lets hope it helps to continue the active try the people are making o clean the place up. On the subject of friends, two very promising events have taken place while I have been out here. Firstly, I have been contacted, out of the blue, by my boyhood friend John Wood from Chilwell in Nottinghamshire, where I was born. I have for many years sent a Christmas card to his parents for no other reason than I held them in very high regard during those formative years, and very much so in my memory. Mr (Alan) Wood, John's father, who unfortunately past away some years ago, was one of my early mentors trying to improve my maths with extra teaching during many an evening. I remember him mostly for his patience, as I was not exactly a shining pupil but still he persevered. Mrs (Doris) as I remember a disciplinarian, and a number of times I remember she brought me up short for my (regular) misbehavior.
Anyway, as usual I sent Mrs Wood a card before I left on this trip, attaching the Blog Link knowing she would be interested in my movements as each year we have kept up to date, via our cards, on past events. John, in turn, hooked his mum up to the site and dropped me an e-mail suggesting we might get together in 2010 and giving me a precis of his life since my departure just 12 months short of 50 years ago. That meeting is priority for this year, and I am very much looking forward to the reunion!
Secondly, another e-mail from my dear pal Jim the Medic (from Buchan Alpha) tells me that he and his lady friend will be landing in Buenos Aires on the 20th February. Coincidentally, I fly home from there on the 24th, so looks like there will doubtless be a party. Jim and I have covered a lot of ground together, not least of which was re-lived in a second mail telling me of the death of his father a few days ago. Although I never met Jim's 'Ald Man I know he was a great fan of Rabbie Burns. Some years ago Jim and I were visiting the now rapidly decaying Gaiety Theater in Shimla in the Himalaya Foothills. We met a small group of Indian academics there, and one of their number (a Professor who's name now escapes me) got on this world famous stage and recited an excellent Shiek poem. By way of return I got up and did the Bard's immortal "No Indispensable Man", which rings as true for me today as it ever did when my old sea-going Jock pal Willy Macvie recited it on the night we saved the crew of HMS Bossington in Lock Fyne in the eye of a cruel force 11 gale. Jim is going to make this Dad's uligy, and my thoughts will be with them next week.
Someday when you're feeling important
Someday when your egos in bloom
Someday when you're getting to thinking
your the most important man in the room
Take a bucket and fill it with water
Plunge your hands in right up to the wrists
The hole that remains when you remove them
Is the amount of how much you'll be missed
Burns
Secondly, another e-mail from my dear pal Jim the Medic (from Buchan Alpha) tells me that he and his lady friend will be landing in Buenos Aires on the 20th February. Coincidentally, I fly home from there on the 24th, so looks like there will doubtless be a party. Jim and I have covered a lot of ground together, not least of which was re-lived in a second mail telling me of the death of his father a few days ago. Although I never met Jim's 'Ald Man I know he was a great fan of Rabbie Burns. Some years ago Jim and I were visiting the now rapidly decaying Gaiety Theater in Shimla in the Himalaya Foothills. We met a small group of Indian academics there, and one of their number (a Professor who's name now escapes me) got on this world famous stage and recited an excellent Shiek poem. By way of return I got up and did the Bard's immortal "No Indispensable Man", which rings as true for me today as it ever did when my old sea-going Jock pal Willy Macvie recited it on the night we saved the crew of HMS Bossington in Lock Fyne in the eye of a cruel force 11 gale. Jim is going to make this Dad's uligy, and my thoughts will be with them next week.
Someday when you're feeling important
Someday when your egos in bloom
Someday when you're getting to thinking
your the most important man in the room
Take a bucket and fill it with water
Plunge your hands in right up to the wrists
The hole that remains when you remove them
Is the amount of how much you'll be missed
Burns
and the List's Additions since who knows when!
HOUSE SPARROW FRANKLIN'S GULL
WHITE-EDGED ORIOLE* CROAKING GROUND DOVE
ELEGANT TERN COLLARED WHISTLING FINCH*
NAZCA BOOBY RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD
BLACK STORM PETREL* WILSON'S PHALAROPE
WAVED ALBATROSS* RED-FOOTED BOOBY*
PACIFIC PARROTLET* PERUVIAN PELICAN
BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY PERUVIAN MEADOWLARK
WANDERING TATTLER LONG-TAILED MOCKINGBIRD
VARIABLE SEEDEATER SPECKLED-BREASTED WREN*
OCHRE-BREASTED DOVE* MASKED WATER TYRANT
LESSON'S SEEDEATER CRIMSON-BREASTED FINCH
SCRUB BLACKBIRD* GREAT FRIGATEBIRD*
GREY-LINED HAWK* PLUMBEOUS-BACKED THRUSH*
GREY ELAENIA* GREY-BREASTED FLYCATCHER*
PALLID DOVE* RUFOUS-FRONTED WOOD QUAIL*
PACIFIC ELAENIA* ESMERALDAS WOODSTAR* (E)
BAND-BACKED WREN*
Trip Ticks = 746 Lifers = 519 Endemics = 44
Grey-lined Hawk
Band-backed Wren
Butterfly Sp
Grey Elaenia
Monarch Butterfly - good numbers there today.'Oh I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside'
A few photos from yesterday to give a flavour of the activities on the Puerto Lopez Beach, usually each and every day.
Puerto Lopez
Hammerhead Shark & Manta Rays
Dorido - now 'in season', plentiful and being landed by the barrow load.
This lady entranced me, filleting these Doridos at a rate of about one per minute.
Garfish Sp
The Garfish filleter
Hammerhead Sharks
The Ministers of Fisheries (you'll have to relax after all that graft lads)
Pacific Red Snapper
Small Grouper
No Idea (answers on a postcard please)
Sand Shark?
Hammerheads & Bagsy Sharks
The Iceman Cometh
Messing About on the River
Elegant Tern
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